Post by jimsteel on Jan 11, 2016 10:42:41 GMT -5
Billie Allen, whose long career included appearances in many TV shows and movies, and who was a positive representative for African American actors, has died. She was 90 years old.
Ms. Allen started out as a ballet dancer in the 1940s, later studying with Lee Strasberg at the Actor’s Studio. Sometimes typecast in domestic roles early in her career, Ms. Allen made every part significant with her talent and creative vision. She worked on Broadway throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
One of her early triumphs was being one of the first black performers who had a recurring role on a popular network series. Billie Allen was on “The Phil Silvers Show,” in which comedian Silvers played the conniving Sergeant Bilko. As one of the WACs on the show, Allen appeared quite frequently, and gained greater notoriety for her role on the heavily watched program. Developing a friendship with show creator Nat Hiken, Ms. Allen also appeared on Hiken’s later series “Car 54 Where Are You.” Billie Allen remained active on TV into the 1990s, appearing on the series “Law and Order.”
Billie Allen was one of the founders of the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop in Harlem. She was widowed in 2003 by her second husband, composer Luther Hendrerson. She is survived by a son, and a granddaughter.
Ms. Allen started out as a ballet dancer in the 1940s, later studying with Lee Strasberg at the Actor’s Studio. Sometimes typecast in domestic roles early in her career, Ms. Allen made every part significant with her talent and creative vision. She worked on Broadway throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
One of her early triumphs was being one of the first black performers who had a recurring role on a popular network series. Billie Allen was on “The Phil Silvers Show,” in which comedian Silvers played the conniving Sergeant Bilko. As one of the WACs on the show, Allen appeared quite frequently, and gained greater notoriety for her role on the heavily watched program. Developing a friendship with show creator Nat Hiken, Ms. Allen also appeared on Hiken’s later series “Car 54 Where Are You.” Billie Allen remained active on TV into the 1990s, appearing on the series “Law and Order.”
Billie Allen was one of the founders of the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop in Harlem. She was widowed in 2003 by her second husband, composer Luther Hendrerson. She is survived by a son, and a granddaughter.
